Aurora immediately understood Rhine's hint—
Even before the Sea Hag had asked her final question, she had already given the answer once! That answer was...
"Love," Aurora said. "The answer is love, right? Uh, a human's love for a mermaid!"
This was the answer she had given just minutes ago, to the first question!
Of course, the answer to the first question had been "an Immortal Soul," so that answer had been wrong.
Rhine smiled.
"Exactly.
"Fate's arrangement is so ingenious. The wrong answer to the first question was precisely the right answer to the last.
"O learned Sea Witch, before you had even asked your question, my friend had already given the correct answer! Was that not also a sign from fate?"
Rhine knew that in a fantastical world of magic such as this, fate was not some vague, intangible thing. It truly existed.
He had personally bestowed a blessing upon Aurora, placing upon the girl the prophecy of "defeating the Black Witch."
Though this prophecy could not fulfill itself automatically, fate would always create strange coincidences and strive to bring about that outcome!
During the time allotted for the first question, they had actually answered two questions at once!
Ariel also chimed in to help her new friends. "Yes, yes. My grandmother told me not long ago that although mermaids do not possess an Immortal Soul, if a human loves you, they can give you one. At the same time, the human's own soul will remain immortal."
She said it with a smile.
The Sea Hag froze.
A moment later, she burst into laughter.
"So that's how it is. For a nonhuman creature to gain an Immortal Soul, the method is so simple, yet so difficult as to be nearly impossible!"
When the Sea Hag mentioned "nearly impossible," Ariel's expression flickered almost imperceptibly.
At that moment, Rhine felt that fiery, scorching energy rush toward him and flow into his soul, increasing his magic power slightly once more.
The wish had been fulfilled! Although Aurora had nominally spoken the answer, the one who had truly answered the question and resolved the Sea Hag's inner knot was him, the magician.
"Another Child of Destiny's wish fulfilled. I wonder what I'll receive this time." Rhine eagerly anticipated his new power.
Vast knowledge, as boundless as the ocean, flooded into his mind and was directly imprinted upon his memories and soul.
It was knowledge of alchemy—how to use different ingredients to brew magic potions. Memories of the Sea Hag concocting potions from strange ingredients flashed through his mind.
"Sea Hag's Alchemy"! The reward for fulfilling this wish was not a new spell.
Instead, it had perfectly copied the Sea Hag's alchemy and granted it to Rhine! Rhine would not forget that in the original story, the Sea Hag had fulfilled the Little Mermaid's wish by brewing a potion that transformed her fish tail into human legs.
Brewing magic potions was clearly this Sea Witch's specialty.
Now, he had obtained her talent for alchemy as well! Compared to Rhine's potion-making skills when he had first transmigrated into the body of a magician, the Sea Hag's knowledge of magic potions was undoubtedly far more profound.
Yet the two bodies of knowledge did not conflict at all. Instead, they complemented each other's shortcomings and enhanced one another! Rhine realized that once he fully integrated them, he had become a Magic Potion Master who surpassed the Sea Hag.
"How strange. This reward wasn't a new spell manifested from the contents of a wish."
Rhine was somewhat surprised, but he quickly understood why.
The people whose wishes he had fulfilled before had been many ordinary people: the king and queen of the Rose Kingdom, the magician Oz, and the soldier who obtained The Tinderbox.
None of them possessed talents astonishing enough to amaze the world, nor did they have any other remarkable traits.
Thus, the Wish Power he gained had manifested in its purest form: materializing the contents of the wish itself.
If the Child of Destiny making the wish was special enough, then the reward for fulfilling that wish would be related to the wish-maker's traits—for example, directly copying their expertise and talent! "That's incredible."
Rhine could not help marveling at the wonders of his Wish Magician constitution.
He looked forward even more to fulfilling the next fairy tale protagonist's wish.
"Very well. You two humans, I don't know whether I should praise your intelligence or your luck." The Sea Hag sighed. "You have answered my three questions. As agreed, I must tell you everything I know about Maleficent."
She plucked a strand of seaweed-like hair from her head, scraped a bit of slime from her pet toad with a dagger, then placed them in a mortar and ground them together while muttering an indistinct incantation.
Before long, a bubble rose from the mortar. Strange images shifted across its surface—they were patterns of memories.
"These are my memories of Maleficent. Place the bubble against your forehead, and you can read them," said the Sea Hag.
The bubble floated toward the giant fish carrying Rhine and Aurora.
The giant fish bit down on the bubble and swallowed it into its belly.
Inside the giant fish's stomach, the two children picked up the rolling bubble as though they were picking up a ball from the ground.
Rhine tossed a gold coin and performed a simple divination. Once he confirmed that this was the answer they sought, he put the bubble away without rushing to read the memory.
"Thank you, Sea Witch, for keeping your promise.
"According to our original agreement, the three questions were merely the first payment, exchanged for the secret concerning Black Witch Maleficent.
"Now tell me, what is the second payment we must offer? This payment will be exchanged for information about your Witch Coven."
Rhine believed that the second payment probably would not be as simple as "answering questions," something that could be completed on the spot.
It might take a very long time to accomplish.
"Help me gain the recognition of the Sea Kingdom, Sea King Your Majesty, and the other creatures of the sea!"
The Sea Hag revealed a self-mocking expression.
"You know, throughout this kingdom of the sea, everyone sees me as a nightmare. They avoid me and tell terrifying tales with me as the protagonist.
"Yet I have merely done what every merchant does—charge a price for my goods.
"I have merely studied some Black Magic—though I have never used it to kill a single innocent person, I am treated as a monster used to frighten children.
"If you can help me gain the recognition of the entire Sea Kingdom, so that the mermaids of these waters no longer fear or despise me, then I will tell you everything about that Witch Coven!"
Rhine sighed softly, once again sensing scorching Power of Wishes from the Sea Hag.
In the original story of The Little Mermaid, this Sea Witch possessed every traditional trait of an "Evil Witch"—ugly, strange, raising frightening pets, and living in a nightmarish White Bone House.
Yet she was an honest merchant, not a wicked villain.
In that story, beautiful as a poem, there was not even a single true "bad person." Every character had a kind side.
Of course, perhaps because she was so well suited to serve as a villain and the story needed an enemy, this Sea Hag was directly turned into an evil main antagonist in Disney's animated adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
Aurora's eyes also revealed pity.
Remembering the fear and disgust the mermaids had shown when speaking of the Sea Hag earlier, she felt some sympathy for the Sea Witch as well.
"Sea Witch, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight. If one day my companions and I fulfill your wish, I will return to claim this answer."
The deal had been made, and the wish had been accepted.
When it would be fulfilled depended on the future.
After saying this, Rhine pointed in Ariel's direction.
"Next, it is time for our friend, Mermaid Princess Ariel, to come to you and fulfill her wish."
Before you continue